Reviews

Özil should have also scored after Giroud's header, the save from Forster was instinctive but Mesut was so close to him, he should have given him no chance. Hindsight is a wonderful thing (is it really?) but a good old fashioned thump from there may have brought about another result. Perhaps I am being unfair or wise after the event but it felt and still feels like a bad miss

Elneny was pretty much what I expected. We've all watched the YouTube videos right? Then we know that he is a ball recycler who drifts into good positions to receive passes. What I was unsure of was his work off the ball. Stuff like, what was he like when the other team were in possession? Well that was the part that interested me the most. He continuously closed down opposition players when they had the ball, not giving his opponent much time to lift his head and play a pass. He does appear to lack a little bit of physical strength in the challenges and I am sure he will correct this over time

I was furious that Mertesacker was left isolated so high up the pitch. Chelsea play with one forward so why was Laurent Koscielny so far away from his partner when he knows he is not able to recover? If we are going to play Mertesacker in a high line you must protect him or you will be punished. That is not Mertesacker's fault, it is the fault of those around him

Without the creative passing of Mesut Özil and the individuality of Alexis Sanchez we lacked that bit of quality in the final third when it really mattered. I thought we had enough about us to have beaten Stoke, we looked the stronger of the two sides but in games where the legs do not move as freely as you would wish, you sometimes need that additional bit of quality to unlock the door

Joel Campbell once more. His pass to Aaron Ramsey for the first equaliser was beautiful. Mesut Özil better check himself before Campbell assists wrecks himself, or something. I have a little bit obsession for chipped goals and reverse through passes, Campbell is satisfying the latter obsession. He tried it again for Giroud's second goal and it was Ramsey once again making that run. Wonder if we will see some more of that during this season. From 78th choice on the flank for Arsenal, Joel may have moved to number 2 on current form. All the credit should go to him for his desire and commitment to work himself into this position, then of course his quality which is becoming clearer and clearer as the weeks roll by

I seem to be in the minority when it comes to our goal conceded. Kieran Gibbs who I thought had his best game in sometime did very well to win the ball back, under pressure he did not have many options but to play the ball in the direction he was facing. Koscielny could have played a pass to his left to Oxlade-Chamberlain and the danger would have been avoided. Kos could have also put his foot through it and played it safe, it wasn't safe and we were punished but I think it is unfair to blame Gibbs for the goal.

How we could do with a winter break at this stage. While it would benefit all the teams in the league, I think it would be massively beneficial for us right about now. I get the feeling that we are not physically ready for some of the games coming up while City with this win under their belts have winnable games. So if I was a betting man, I would predict Arsenal to drop a place or two for now but with players coming back or coming in from the transfer market I suspect we will find another late run of form as we have done so often so we will come back again for the home straight

So let me stop reminiscing of days gone by and let me focus on our Welsh wonder. Let me start off by saying that I think it is quite obvious that Aaron Ramsey is better in central midfield. His partnership with Mesut Özil, his running from deep and his underrated ball winning ability makes him a ...Read more